12 Principles of Animation (Official Full Series)

Summary

This video series dives into the 12 principles of animation as outlined by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, starting with 'squash and stretch' to emphasize speed and weight. It covers principles like anticipation, staging, and the importance of pose and timing. The series explains how to add realism and character to animations, using techniques such as follow-through, overlapping action, and arcs. It also discusses the significance of timing, exaggeration, solid drawing, and appeal in creating dynamic and engaging animated characters, concluding with a promise to continue exploring animation fundamentals in future videos.

Takeaways

• 🎯 The 'squash and stretch' principle is fundamental in animation, emphasizing speed, momentum, weight, and mass of objects or characters.
• 🏀 Objects and characters with more squash and stretch appear softer, while less suggests a stiffer quality, akin to comparing a water balloon to a bowling ball.
• 👤 Squash and stretch can be used to exaggerate facial expressions, enhancing the emotional impact of a character's actions.
• 🔲 Maintaining consistent volume of an object during squash and stretch is crucial to avoid unrealistic deformation.
• 🤸‍♂️ Anticipation is used to prepare the audience for an upcoming action, making the action appear more realistic and dynamic.
• 🎯 Multiple levels of anticipation can be used for complex actions, similar to a baseball pitcher's wind-up before throwing.
• 🎨 Staging in animation is about presenting ideas clearly, guiding the viewer's attention and ensuring the main action is not upstaged.
• 🎭 The 'straight ahead' and 'pose to pose' methods offer different approaches to animation, with the latter providing more control over the action.
• 🔄 Follow through and overlapping action add realism by showing body parts continuing to move after the main body has stopped.
• 🚀 The 'slow in and slow out' principle is essential for lifelike motion, as most movements start and end slowly, with a peak in speed in between.
• 🌐 The 'arcs' principle states that most living creatures move in circular paths, which should be reflected in animation for a more natural look.
• 🔄 Secondary action supports the main action, adding depth and personality to character animations without overpowering them.
• ⏱️ Timing affects the personality and nature of an animation, with the number of frames between main actions dictating the speed and impact.
• 🤹‍♂️ Exaggeration enhances the viewer's impact by taking actions, poses, and expressions to the next level without necessarily distorting reality.
• 🎨 Solid drawing is vital for creating three-dimensional forms that convey volume, weight, and balance in both 2D and 3D animation.
• 🌟 Appeal is about making characters pleasing and charismatic, which can be achieved through dynamic design, varied shapes, and interesting proportions.

Q & A

What are the 12 principles of animation mentioned in the video?

The 12 principles of animation as described by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston are: squash and stretch, anticipation, staging, straight ahead and pose to pose, follow through and overlapping action, slow in and slow out, arcs, secondary action, timing, exaggeration, solid drawing, and appeal.

How does the principle of 'squash and stretch' contribute to the animation of objects and characters?

The principle of 'squash and stretch' contributes to the animation by allowing objects and characters to appear more dynamic and responsive to forces. It emphasizes speed, momentum, weight, and mass, and helps in conveying the softness or stiffness of an object through the degree of squash and stretch.

What is the importance of maintaining consistent volume in the 'squash and stretch' principle?

Maintaining consistent volume in 'squash and stretch' is crucial because it ensures that the animated object retains a believable three-dimensional form. As an object gets longer, it should also get narrower, and when it gets flatter, it should get wider to preserve its overall volume.

Can you explain the second principle of animation, 'Anticipation', and its role in making actions appear realistic?

Anticipation is the principle where a character prepares for an action, giving the audience a clue about what is happening next and making the action more realistic. It's like a spring that coils up before releasing, building energy before the action occurs, which helps in making the movement believable.

How does 'staging' in animation help in presenting ideas clearly to the audience?

Staging in animation is about controlling the viewer's attention and guiding their eyes to where the action is happening. It ensures that the main action is clear and simple, and not upstaged by other elements in the scene. Proper staging helps in conveying ideas and emotions effectively.

What are the two methods of animating drawings as described by the 'straight ahead and pose to pose' principle?

The two methods of animating drawings are 'straight ahead' and 'pose to pose'. Straight ahead involves drawing each frame in sequence from the start to the end of the action. Pose to pose involves drawing the key poses first and then filling in the in-between frames later, giving more control over the action's outcome.

Why is 'follow through and overlapping action' important for adding realism to animation?

Follow through and overlapping action are important for realism because they mimic the way body parts and appendages move in real life. They continue to move when the main body stops, adding a sense of weight and inertia to the animation, making it more lifelike.

What does the principle of 'slow in and slow out' refer to, and how does it contribute to lifelike motion?

'Slow in and slow out' refers to the way movements start slowly, build up speed, and then slow down again before stopping. This principle is crucial for achieving lifelike motion as it mimics the natural acceleration and deceleration of real-world movements, making animations appear more organic and less mechanical.

How do 'arcs' in animation help in making movements more natural?

Arcs in animation help in making movements more natural by following the circular paths that most living creatures take during motion. Instead of straight or mechanical movements, arcs give a more fluid and believable motion to the animated characters and objects.

What is 'secondary action', and how does it support the main action in animation?

Secondary action refers to gestures or movements that support the main action without overpowering it. It adds more dimension to the character animation, providing subtle cues about the character's emotions or intentions, and enriches the overall performance.

How does the 'timing' principle affect the personality and nature of an animation?

The 'timing' principle affects the personality and nature of an animation by determining the speed at which actions are portrayed. The number of frames inserted between main actions influences how fast or slow an action appears, which in turn can convey different moods, emotions, or character traits.

What is the purpose of 'exaggeration' in animation, and how does it impact the viewer's perception?

Exaggeration in animation serves to amplify actions, poses, and expressions, making them more impactful and noticeable to the viewer. It doesn't mean distorting reality but rather making the essence of an action more apparent and convincing, which can enhance the emotional response and engagement.

Why is 'solid drawing' important for creating a sense of three-dimensionality in animation?

Solid drawing is important for creating a sense of three-dimensionality because it ensures that forms appear to have volume, weight, and balance. It involves understanding and applying principles of perspective and form to make characters and objects look solid and exist within a 3D space.

What does the 'appeal' principle mean in the context of character animation, and why is it important?

The 'appeal' principle refers to the likability or interesting nature of animated characters. It's important because characters that are pleasing to look at or have a charismatic aspect are more engaging to the audience. Appeal can be achieved through dynamic design, variety of shapes, and interesting proportions.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Introduction to the 12 Principles of Animation

The script introduces a video series focused on the 12 principles of animation as outlined by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. It begins with the principle of 'squash and stretch,' which is used to emphasize an object's speed, momentum, weight, and mass through changes in shape. The video contrasts a bouncing ball with and without this principle to illustrate the difference. Squash and stretch can indicate an object's softness or stiffness, and the principle is also applied to characters and facial expressions to add realism. The video also emphasizes maintaining consistent volume of objects and introduces the second principle, 'anticipation,' which prepares characters for actions to enhance realism and audience engagement.

05:03

🤸‍♂️ Anticipation and Staging in Animation

This paragraph delves deeper into the principle of 'anticipation,' using examples such as a character crouching before jumping or winding up before punching to make actions appear more realistic and to clue the audience into upcoming events. The importance of staging is introduced as the third principle, which is about clearly presenting ideas through various aspects of animation like acting, timing, camera angles, and setting. The goal is to guide the viewer's attention and ensure that the main action is clear and not overshadowed by other elements. The paragraph also discusses the importance of timing and ensuring that actions are not overlapping in a way that confuses the viewer.

10:07

🎭 Principles of Staging and Animation Techniques

The paragraph discusses the importance of staging in animation, emphasizing that the main action should be centrally located or aligned with the rule of thirds for clarity. It also touches on the timing of actions and the use of pauses to allow viewers to process what's happening on screen. The discussion then shifts to the fourth principle, 'straight ahead action' and 'pose to pose' animation techniques. 'Straight ahead action' involves animating frame by frame, while 'pose to pose' involves setting key poses and filling in the action between them. The advantages of each method are explored, including control over the action and the ability to handle unpredictable animations like fire or water.

15:10

🔁 Follow Through and Overlapping Action

This section introduces the principles of 'follow through' and 'overlapping action,' which involve the continuation of movement in body parts after the main body has stopped. It explains how these principles add realism to animations by showing the natural continuation and settling of body parts like arms and hair. The paragraph also discusses the concept of 'drag,' which is related to these principles and involves delaying the movement of certain body parts. Examples are given to illustrate how these principles can be applied to enhance the grace and interest of an animation.

20:12

🛫 Slow In and Slow Out Principles

The principle of 'slow in and slow out' is explored, which refers to the natural acceleration and deceleration of movements in living creatures, as opposed to the constant speed of mechanical motion. The paragraph explains how this principle is key to achieving lifelike motion in animations and how it can be applied in both 2D and 3D animation. It also discusses the use of 'arcs' in movement, which is another principle that contributes to the natural look of animations, as most living creatures move in circular paths rather than straight lines.

🎭 Secondary Action and Solid Drawing Techniques

The concept of 'secondary action' is introduced as gestures that support the main action, adding depth to character animation without overpowering it. Examples are given to illustrate how secondary actions can enhance the storytelling and expressiveness of an animation. The paragraph also discusses the importance of 'solid drawing' in creating three-dimensional forms that have volume, weight, and balance. Techniques for achieving solid drawing, such as using perspective lines and avoiding symmetry, are explained, and the relevance of solid drawing to 3D animation is highlighted.

👾 Appeal in Character Design

The final principle, 'appeal,' is discussed, which relates to the attractiveness and likability of animated characters. The paragraph explains that appeal is not just about physical attractiveness but also about having an interesting and charismatic design. Tips for creating appealing characters are provided, such as using a variety of shapes, playing with proportions, and keeping the design simple. The video concludes with a promise to continue the series with topics like walk and run cycles, and thanks the viewers for their engagement.

Keywords

💡Squash and Stretch

Squash and stretch is a fundamental principle of animation that gives lifelike qualities to objects and characters by emphasizing their flexibility and mass. It involves the deformation of an object to appear squashed when compressed or stretched when elongated. In the video, this principle is demonstrated with a bouncing ball, where the ball flattens upon impact and elongates as it falls, creating a sense of weight and momentum. It's crucial for giving animated characters a dynamic and believable movement.

💡Anticipation

Anticipation is an animation principle that sets up an action to make it more believable and engaging. It's the preparation for an action that gives the audience a hint of what's coming next. For instance, a character crouching before jumping or pulling back an arm before throwing a punch. The video script uses these examples to illustrate how anticipation can add realism and power to an action, making the animation more compelling for the viewer.

💡Staging

Staging in animation refers to the arrangement and presentation of elements within a scene to clearly convey the action, emotion, or message. It involves controlling the viewer's focus and guiding their attention to the most important parts of the animation. The video discusses staging in terms of camera angles, character positioning, and scene composition, emphasizing the importance of clarity and simplicity in presenting the main action of a scene.

💡Straight Ahead and Pose to Pose

These are two contrasting methods of animating. 'Straight ahead' animation involves creating each frame in sequence, allowing the action to develop naturally as the animator progresses. 'Pose to pose' animation, on the other hand, involves planning the key poses of an action first and then filling in the in-between frames. The video explains that pose to pose gives more control over the action's outcome, while straight ahead can lead to more spontaneous and fluid results.

💡Follow Through and Overlapping Action

Follow through and overlapping action are techniques used in animation to add realism by showing how different parts of a character or object continue to move even after the main action has stopped. For example, when a character's arm swings, the hand and fingers will continue to move after the arm has stopped. The video script explains how these principles help to create a more fluid and natural motion, enhancing the believability of the animation.

💡Slow In and Slow Out

Slow in and slow out is a principle that dictates how movement in animation should start slow, accelerate, and then slow down again before stopping. This mimics the natural acceleration and deceleration of objects in real life and helps to sell the weight and momentum of animated characters or objects. The video script uses this principle to explain how to create more lifelike and dynamic motion in animation.

💡Arcs

Arcs refer to the curved paths that most movements in nature follow, as opposed to straight lines. In animation, arcs are used to make movements look more organic and less mechanical. The video script demonstrates how interpolating motion between key poses with arcs can add a sense of fluidity and grace to an animated character's movements, such as a head turn or a ball bouncing.

💡Secondary Action

Secondary action in animation is the additional movement or gesture that supports and enhances the main action. It adds depth and personality to a scene. For example, the video mentions a character walking angrily where the arms swinging, head bobbing, and facial expressions are secondary actions that complement the primary action of walking. These subtleties help to convey the character's emotional state more effectively.

💡Timing

Timing in animation is the control of the speed at which actions are portrayed. It is crucial for conveying the weight, mood, and impact of an action. The video script discusses how the number of frames between main poses can drastically change the meaning of an action. For instance, fewer frames between poses result in faster, more energetic movements, while more frames create slower, more deliberate actions.

💡Exaggeration

Exaggeration is the principle of taking an action, pose, or expression beyond its realistic limits to heighten its impact and readability. It's about making the essence of an action more apparent without necessarily distorting the character's form. The video script illustrates how exaggeration can make an animation more engaging by emphasizing the emotional or physical extremes of a character's performance.

💡Solid Drawing

Solid drawing is the principle of creating the illusion of three-dimensional forms with volume, weight, and balance. It requires an understanding of perspective and the way objects and characters look from different angles. The video script explains that using basic shapes to construct characters and being mindful of overlap and perspective can help animators create more convincing and dynamic characters in a three-dimensional space.

💡Appeal

Appeal in animation refers to the attractiveness or likability of a character. It's about creating characters that are interesting and engaging to the audience, regardless of whether they are heroes or villains. The video script discusses how appeal can be achieved through dynamic design, variety of shapes, playing with proportions, and keeping the design simple. This helps to ensure that characters are not only visually pleasing but also easier to animate.

Highlights

Introduction to the 12 principles of animation by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston.

Explanation of 'squash and stretch' to emphasize speed, momentum, weight, and mass.

Demonstration of a bouncing ball with and without squash and stretch.

The relationship between squash and stretch and an object's mass.

Application of squash and stretch to characters and facial expressions.

Importance of maintaining consistent volume during squash and stretch.

Technique of in-betweening with cubes as an introduction to 3D squash and stretch.

Second principle 'Anticipation' to prepare for actions and enhance realism.

Examples of anticipation in jumping, punching, and running animations.

Use of anticipation to trick the audience and create surprises.

Third principle 'Staging' to clearly present ideas in animation.

Importance of camera angles and character positioning for staging.

Techniques for controlling viewer focus and conveying emotions through staging.

Fourth principle 'Straight ahead and pose to pose' animation methods.

Benefits and applications of both straight ahead and pose to pose methods.

Fifth principle 'Follow through and overlapping action' for realistic movement.

Techniques for adding drag and follow through to appendages and body parts.

Sixth principle 'Slow in and slow out' for lifelike motion.

Implementation of slow in and slow out in 2D and 3D animation.

Seventh principle 'Arcs' for natural movement paths.

Techniques for creating arcs in figure movements and turns.

Eighth principle 'Secondary action' to support and add depth to main actions.

Examples of secondary actions enhancing character personality.

Ninth principle 'Timing' as a key factor in defining animation personality.

Impact of frame count on the speed and interpretation of actions.

Tenth principle 'Exaggeration' to increase viewer impact.

Approaches to exaggeration for more convincing animations.

Eleventh principle 'Solid drawing' for 3D form and space.

Techniques for creating a sense of depth and weight in characters.

Twelfth principle 'Appeal' for creating likable and interesting characters.

Strategies for enhancing character appeal through design and personality.

Conclusion of the 12 part series and future plans for walk and run cycle videos.

Transcripts

Hey, guys...

So, I decided to make a video series dedicated to the 12 principles of animation,

as described by the legendary animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston.

So the first principle is "squash and stretch".

This is the principle that animated objects will get longer

or flatter to emphasize their speed, momentum, weight, and mass.

Here's a bouncing ball that has squash and stretch.

And here is one without squash and stretch.

See the difference?

The amount that an object squashes and stretches says something about its mass.

The more squash and stretch, the softer the object.

The less squash and stretch, the stiffer the object.

This first one looks like a water balloon and the second one probably would be a bowling ball.

Squash and stretch applies to characters, too.

Look at how this figure is stretching from the speed that he's coming down with,

and then he squashes after he lands before settling in his pose.

You can also use squash and stretch to exaggerate facial expressions.

Let's add some squash and stretch to this face:

when his eyes are closed, his face is squashed,

and when he opens his eyes in disbelief,

his face stretches up and settles back to normal.

It's very important to keep the volume of the object consistent.

This is what a lot of people mess up with when they're first trying to do "squash and stretch".

They'll elongate the ball like this, and flatten it like this.

This is what you should NOT do.

The overall volume of the ball must be the same:

so as the ball gets longer, it also gets narrower;

when it gets flatter, it also gets wider.

The same goes with cubes.

If you're going in with one line, the other lines must go in the opposite direction.

The cube should start out narrow, get flat, get narrow again, and then rest.

In -betweening with cubes is easy because you can measure the line in between the two lines

and then connect them to make the cube.

If you master "squash and stretch" with cubes, the next step is to try to do it in 3D.

Another important note is that the ball does not have to be stretching the entire time that it's falling.

When it's just starting to fall, it should have its normal shape for the most part,

and then when it's just about to hit the bottom,

that's when it has the most stretch.

So, do not overdo "squash and stretch" in this sense.

Alright! The second principle of animation is called Anticipation.

This is when a character prepares for an action to give the audience a clue

as to what is happening next

As well as to make the action appear more realistic.

One example is when a character is about to jump.

Before leaping into the air, he has to prepare for the action

by crouching down to build energy.

It's like a spring that coils up before releasing.

Look at this character jumping without any anticipation.

It looks very unrealistic because the energy to jump comes out of nowhere.

Here's another example: a punch.

To add power to the punch and communicate to the viewers that he is about to punch.

He reaches his arm back and then punches.

By contrast having no anticipation results in a very weak punch.

You'll see this in a lot of cartoons before running a character will wind up, before taking off.

In the previous video about squash and stretch this face actually uses anticipation as well.

Instead of immediately stretching up, the face squashes first to anticipate the stretch

and give it more power.

Anticipation helps communicate actions to the audience by preparing them for the next action.

This can happen in many ways

If a character is about to take something out of their pocket.

They make their hand very visible and up in the air before going into the pocket.

Otherwise the audience might miss it and wonder how they got that object in the first place.

The most important thing is that the viewer notices the hand and the pocket

so the character cannot be performing any competing actions.

Let's say that something is about to happen on the right.

A character may prepare for that action by pointing their eyes and head to look in that direction

leading the viewers to also look there

It's important to make it as easy as possible for the audience to understand what's going on

without having to watch it twice.

But this can also be used to trick the audience too.

If you lead their eyes in One direction

and then surprise them by having something happen on the other side of the screen.

Taking anticipation of step further

you can actually have multiple levels of anticipation

Let's go back to our punch animation where the character winds up before punching.

This animation has one level of anticipation

Now look at this one.

The character is actually winding out for his wind-up

by going forward then winding up and then before punching

he throws his other arm back to further anticipate the punch.

This punch is very complex.

It's actually similar to what a baseball pitcher does when he's getting ready to throw the ball.

So the third principle of animation is called staging.

Staging is the presentation of any idea so that it is completely and unmistakably clear.

This is a very broad principle because it covers so many areas of animation.

It can apply to acting, timing, camera Angle and position and setting.

So when you're animating you want to be in full control of where the audience is looking.

You're essentially saying look at this,

now look at this

and now look at this.

This control is achieved through staging.

All of the elements of the scene work together to move the viewers eyes around the screen.

Here's an example of bad staging.

The characters are competing for stage presence, so the viewer doesn't know which one to look at.

The camera has a lot to do with this.

It's important to know when to be closed up and went to be far away.

Far away is good for big actions while close-up is good for expressions.

Don't have the main action be off to the side.

It should be either in the center of the screen or in one of the thirds of the screen.

If they're facing to the side

there should be more empty space in the direction that they're facing

Unless someone's sneaking it behind them

in which case they would no longer be the main character of the shot.

The main action of the scene should be very clear and simple.

It can't be upstaged by other things that are going on.

This takes attention away from the main point.

It should also have proper timing.

Let one action finish before the other person starts their action instead of overlapping them

Sometimes you need to insert pauses if there's something on the screen

that needs to be processed by the viewer before moving on.

Sometimes if there's any text on the screen.

You should keep it on screen for as long as it takes to read it out loud three times.

But it's not just about controlling the viewers eyes.

It's also about conveying ideas.

If a character is sad for example.

You want to make sure that the viewer knows that and feels that.

If someone's house is supposed to be very poor and decrepit.

Go over the top to make sure that they get it

and don't have any objects that detract from that purpose.

Let's take this scene and give it the staging treatment.

This fat guy is eating pizza the idea that we want to convey

is that he is a severe over eater.

So let's set the stage more.

Let's give them more pizza and put piles of pizza boxes behind him

and stains on his shirt.

Let's move the camera down below him to make him look bigger.

And let's change his acting so that his weight actually gets in the way of his eating.

So he can't even reach for the soda without falling over.

Now let's make sure to time it right.

So he notices the soda and then reaches for it.

Now the idea is very clear.

All right.

So the fourth animation principle is called straight ahead and pose to pose.

This term describes two methods used to animate drawings.

The first method straight ahead is where you draw the first drawing

and then you draw the second drawing and then the third drawing and so on.

It's basically animating as you go.

The second method post a pose is where you draw the beginning

and end of each main pose and go back later to fill in the drawings in between

So there are benefits to both methods.

Pose to pose is generally better for most actions

because it gives you the most control.

You have a good idea of what the action is going to look like very early in the process.

So instead of worrying if the character is going to end up in the right place.

You decide where they end up from the beginning and work backwards.

Also

Using straight ahead animation can lead to the character changing size

or being on a different level from beginning to end.

Pose to pose can save you a lot of work.

If you were to animate a whole sequence straight ahead

and then realize that one pose is off.

You would have to change several drawings to fix that one pose.

But with pose to pose you do the main poses to see if it feels right,

and you can catch problems early on.

Straight ahead animation on the other hand is good for animation that is unpredictable.

Some examples of this include fire,

water particles, clouds of dust, explosions.

The reason why straight ahead works well is because there are laws of physics that work at a constant rate.

And it's hard to predict how it will work post a pose.

So when animating fire for example.

You just go with the flow based on what you know about fire

and let the fire kind of create itself.

If we were to look at the beginning and end,

we wouldn't even know how to in between it.

However, you can still use pose to pose to make the general shapes

and fill it in between to make it smoother.

Another example of unpredictable animation is overlapping action

which will be covered in depth in the next video.

Let's say that a character has floppy ears.

You could draw the figure with his ears for each pose and just draw the in-betweens accordingly.

But another method is to animate the figure using post to pose without the ears

and then going through and adding the years using straight ahead

This is good because you can focus on the figures movements

without the distraction of having to do his ears.

And you can also focus on the physics of his ears

without the distraction of his body's movement.

This also applies to hair, tails and other appendages.

When you work pose to pose, there's some vocabulary that goes into it.

There are main poses called keys.

Secondary poses called extremes.

And further broken-down poses called breakdowns.

Make the keys first. Perfect them.

Then decide the farthest the character will go in each direction using extremes.

And then decide how you want the extremes to connect using breakdown poses.

At this point you can start in-betweening.

Working with this sort of hierarchy will give you the most control

as opposed to doing your post to pose, straight ahead, so to speak.

This is like post to pose with in pose to pose

because you are perfecting the poses at each level Before moving down to the next level.

Alright, so the next principle of animation is called follow through and overlapping action.

This is a technique of having body parts and appendages dragged behind the rest of the body

and continue to move when the body stops.

Follow through and overlapping action are often associated with another technique called drag

These names all describe the same thing but in different ways.

For example Follow through refers to the way parts of the body continue to move after the body is stopped.

Overlapping action describes the offset between the timing of the main body and its other parts.

Drag describes the technique of delaying the movement of body parts in relation to the main body.

All three of these are basically describing different aspects of the same thing.

Follow through and overlapping action add a great deal of realism to a character.

Here's a character with and without follow through and overlapping action.

Basically when the main body moves, the tip of the appendage should be the last to catch up.

And when the body stops, the tip should follow through the farthest before settling back.

This is true of not just appendages, but the whole body as well.

When coming to a stop often the body will follow through and then come back.

Just as the character needs to anticipate his jump

he also needs to follow through his land.

Sometimes the extra skin on the character can be treated as a separate entity

with Drag and follow through.

Similar to squash and stretch

the amount of drag that you give something says something about its mass.

The first one is like a TV antenna

while the second one is like a feather.

It's usually easier to add the appendages after the animation of the main body is finished

when adding hair for example.

Use the previous frame as an indicator of where the hair should be stretched towards.

Since it has drag it should be dragging from where wasn't the last frame.

In addition, make sure to let the hair follow through when the body comes to a stop.

Arms are a good place to insert follow through and overlapping action

have the elbows lead the arms actions,

the elbow comes first followed by the forearm, and then the hand.

This is true even when walking, the forearms drag slightly behind the elbows

and the hands drag slightly behind the forearms

Overlapping action helps break up an animation to make it more interesting.

If we offset the movement of the arms and legs

the animation appears more graceful.

If a character is standing up from the ground

we could offset the top half from the bottom half

to make it look less easy and more realistic .

Alright. So the next principle is called slow in and slow out.

This principle refers to the way pretty much all movement starts slowly,

build speed and finishes slowly.

This is one of the most important principles to achieving lifelike motion

without slow in and slow out, things feel mechanical.

That's because robots are one of the only things that actually move their parts at a constant speed.

To use this principle in 2d animation, you take your extreme poses

draw a single in-between and then draw in between those

then only in between the drawings closest to the extremes

until you're satisfied with the amount of slow in and slow out.

With 3D animation and motion graphics

adding slow in and slow out as a matter of changing the motion curves from linear to spline

by adjusting the bezier handles.

As time progresses the object starts slow, gets fast, and then slowly.

Use it wisely. For example you wouldn't add a slow out to a bouncing ball

as it's colliding with the ground.

But you would add it as it's bouncing back up.

You wouldn't add it to a bullet coming out of a gun.

But you would add it as the gun comes up due to whiplash.

Using this principle can allow you to only have to draw one in between if the motion is quick enough.

Draw one in between and then add another frame on either end

with the drawing slightly skewed in the correct direction, and then it's done.

Sometimes you don't even have to add the one in between.

This kind of motion can be achieved in 3D with very extreme curves.

Many people starting out with animation get impatient

and draw the next frame very far away from the beginning.

It's very unrealistic for a character to go from completely still to super fast

so adding a few drawings to ease into it will fix the problem.

A good way to fix a choppy animation

is to analyze the space between the drawings.

They should be evenly spaced with drawings closer together

at the beginning of the action and at the end of the action

and drawings farther apart in the middle.

All right. The seventh principle of animation is called Arcs.

So very few organisms are capable of movements

that have a mechanical in and out or up-and-down precision

Most living creatures will move in a circular path, otherwise known as an Arc

So let's say that we were given these key poses.

And we're told to fill in the poses in between.

Simply taking the midway point between the poses will not work.

Because this looks way too mechanical.

The ball needs to follow an ARc.

Of course we also need to consider the slow in and out caused by Gravity.

When doing this in 3D and motion graphics

we can achieve this effect by keeping the movement in the x-Axis constant

but giving the movement in the y-Axis a slow in and slow out

This will give the ball its arc.

Now let's look at this head turn.

Right now it looks pretty dull and straight,

but if we add an Arc to it, it gives it a little bit more character.

Forgetting about Arcs can lead to some obvious mistakes.

For example we may in between this movement by calculating the midpoint like this

and cause the shape of the object to shrink.

If we were to draw a simple Arc as a reference,

then this movement would be a lot easier and more realistic.

Arcs can be added to almost any figure movement.

This guy is landing on the ground.

Let's have his body settle in an Arc.

This guy is reacting with shock.

Let's have his body and arms follow an Arc.

This guy is taking a step.

Have his body moved down and up in an Arc before he even takes his next step

This guy's kicking.

Have his leg and body follow through in an ARc

When movements are very fast you can add arcs in the form of a smear.

Take the beginning and end pose and draw an aRc in between

and fill it in the same color as the object maybe slightly transparent

or fragmented towards the end of the action.

Ok. The next principle is called Secondary action.

This principle is often associated with overlapping action.

Although according to Frank and Ollie it means something very different.

Secondary action describes gestures that support the main action

to add more dimension to the character animation.

For example a character may be walking angrily.

The primary action is the legs and the secondary action is everything else:

the arms swinging, the head bobbing and the facial movements.

Let's say a character is about to knock on a door.

The secondary action of the other hand will communicate what kind of door knocking this is.

If it's a fist, it makes him look angry.

If it's dainty, it gives them a graceful, happy vibe.

If it's tucked close while the head looks back and forth before knocking

it communicates that he doesn't want to be discovered.

This guy's picking up a box.

We can give him more personality by having him rub his hands together

and twiddle them in the air while getting ready to pick it up.

It's important not to let the andheri action dominate the primary action.

If a figure has a sad expression that should be seen.

and we are adding a secondary action of wiping away the tear.

The hand shouldn't cover the face.

On the other hand don't let it go unnoticed.

People might not even notice that there's a tear there, unless you give it its own time.

This is why the principle of staging is very important in Secondary action.

So let's take this simple bite animation and give it some secondary action.

First, let's make him lick his lips to show that he's hungry.

Next let's make him close his eyes and have his eyebrows go up showing that he likes it.

Last, let's make him shake his head because he cannot believe how good it tastes.

The primary action is the bite.

But all the secondary actions add more dimension to the bite.

So the next principle is called timing

This principle states that the personality and nature of an animation

is greatly affected by the number of frames inserted between each main action.

Basically if you have many drawings that are very close together in between the two main poses,

the action will be very slow.

If you have very few drawings set far apart from each other, the action will be very fast.

Less drawings means fast, more drawings means slow.

One simple action can have ten different meanings, depending on how many frames you give it.

This man is leaning from one shoulder to the other.

With no in-betweens it looks like his head is being hit

by a tremendous force nearly snapping off his neck.

With one in-between his head has been hit by a rolling pin or some other object.

With two in-betweens, he has a muscle twitch.

With three in-betweens, he's dodging the rolling pin or the other object.

Before he's saying moving get out of here.

With five, he's more friendly saying over here. Come on. Hurry.

With six, he sees a good-looking girl, or the sports car he always wanted.

With seven, he's trying to get a better look at something.

With eight, he's searching for the peanut butter on the kitchen shelf.

With nine, he is appraising something very thoughtfully.

And with ten in-betweens, he is stretching a sore muscle.

The standard frame rate for movies is 24 frames per second.

If one drawing is made for each frame 24 drawings per second,

that is called drawing on once.

If one drawing is made for every two frames,

that's called drawing on twos.

And every three drawings is threes and so on.

It's actually very common to draw on twos than once for a few reasons.

First it cuts the amount of work in half.

Second it actually makes slow actions look smoother than if you were to draw every frame.

Because the precision needed to draw in between two very close drawings

can lead to the animation looking jittery.

Some would also say that drawing on twos is better for fast actions as well.

Because it gives a sparkle and spirit to the animation

that would otherwise be too evenly timed and less lively if it were drawn on once.

But drawing on ones is necessary when there's a very fast action that needs to be read

often to scramble or a flurry of activity.

And it's also everyone's choice how many drawings to put in between poses.

Some people draw more or less streams depending on how much movement there is.

This can give a very dynamic effect to the animation.

So the next principle is called exaggeration.

Basically every action, pose and expression can be taken to the next level

to increase the amount of impact on the viewer.

So the early animators that Disney would get confused

because Walt would tell them to add more realism,

but then when they changed it he would criticize the result

because it wasn't exaggerated enough.

In walt's mind, there was probably no difference

making it more realistic didn't mean make the physics and proportions more consistent with reality.

But rather make the idea or essence of the action more apparent and real.

So if a character was sad, make him sadder.

Bright, make him brighter.

Worried, make him more worried.

Wild, make him wilder.

Exaggeration doesn't mean more distorted, but more convincing.

It's amazing how you can always add exaggeration.

This animation looks finished, right?

But let's give it some exaggeration.

Now when we compare the two,

the first one definitely looks less powerful

even though earlier we thought it was finished.

When motions are quick, the exaggeration needs to be bigger in order to be noticed.

This still frame looks way too extreme to be realistic.

But when you play it in motion it looks less extreme.

That's because a lot of the frames that your eye perceives in a short time

are less extreme frames and only one of them is very extreme.

So in order to boost its presence you can either make it stay on the screen longer

or make it more extreme.

Since it's hard to tell how much room you have for exaggeration,

a good rule to follow is to push the exaggeration level until it actually becomes too much.

Then wind it back until you're satisfied with it.

This way you see the whole range beforehand instead of shooting in the dark.

So the next principle is called solid drawing.

This principle is about making sure that forms feel like they are in three-dimensional space

with volume weight and balance.

One thing that makes animating a lot easier is being able to draw a figure from all angles.

This requires knowledge of three-dimensional drawing.

For example when drawing a line on a sphere

it must follow the contour of the spheres surface.

A straight line instantly makes the circle look flat.

When drawing cubes, avoid making parallel lines.

Lines should be bent towards the vanishing point.

Otherwise, it will look like a flat symbol or a logo.

When doing a rough pass of the character

use basic solid shapes like spheres, cubes and cylinders

to construct the character instead of circles squares and rectangles.

This will help you be mindful of the space therein.

Another thing you can do is draw perspective lines on the ground

to keep track of their distance from the camera

so that you can know when to draw them bigger or smaller.

When moving on to the clean line version of your character

be very mindful of overlap and try to include it whenever possible.

Without overlap everything appears to be on the same plane.

But just adding a single line here and there

can define where surfaces come out and where they recede.

Another thing to note when doing lines is to avoid symmetry.

Symmetrical lines look flat.

Try to pair a straight line with a curved line

or offset two curved lines.

So it looks more natural and dynamic.

The principle of solid drawing applies to 3D animation as well.

In regards to portraying weight and balance in the pose of a character.

For example avoid what's called twinning

which happens when the arms and legs and other paired features are doing the exact same thing.

This is a known affliction that animators have to make a conscious effort to avoid

instead lean it over to one side or put one hand on the hips

or give it a slouch or do something to show that it has weight

and has to keep its balance in a 3D environment.

Alright. The last principle of animation is called appeal.

Basically characters that you animate should be somewhat pleasing to look at.

They should have some kind of charismatic aspect to like about them.

This doesn't only apply to the hero of the story,

but also the villain and every other character

Appeal doesn't always mean good-looking.

It can also mean interesting.

So the villain should be likable in the sense that they are interesting to look at.

The tricky thing about this is that everyone has a different standard for what is appealing.

However, just giving your character a dynamic design can greatly boost its appeal.

Here are three steps to doing that.

First, use a variety of shapes

instead of using the same shape for every character.

Try out different shapes

because there's no limit to the spectrum of crazy configurations that characters can have.

Every good character design starts with a clear shape.

Second, play with proportions.

Cartoonists often magnify the things we find interesting

and shrink the things we might find ugly or boring.

For example they might enlarge the head and eyes

shrink the body and make the hands larger.

Finding the aspect of a character that defines his or her personality

and blowing it up can often create a more appealing design.

Third, keep it simple.

Too much information can over complicate the character

and also make it harder and more restraining to animate.

This is a difference between drawing for illustration and drawing for animation

with animated characters you have to pick and choose what details to keep.

Because you're going to be drawing those details hundreds of times.

So let's give some characters an appeal makeover.

This king has a generic shape and not much personality.

Let's make it more like an egg.

Now his appeal comes from looking proud, powerful and petite.

This robot mercenary has too many details to see any personality.

Let's pick a few details and emphasize them.

Remove the rest and change his shape.

Now he has a mysterious appeal to him.

This fisherman looks pretty average.

Let's adjust his proportions to emphasize his lankiness.

and make that his point of appeal.

So that's all I've got for appeal and that brings us to the end of our 12 part series.

So I thank you for watching it.

I had a lot of fun making it and I actually learned a lot about animation, too.

I do plan to continue making these videos

and next I will be covering walk and run cycles.

So thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next video